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solution by combinatorial methods

...between the centres of the surrounding spheres are at least 2/cos 18° = 2.1029 · · · .) It appears, therefore, that by judicious positioning it might be possible to have 13 equal non-overlapping spheres touch another of the same size. This dilemma between 12 and 13, one of the first nontrivial problems of combinatorial geometry, was the object of discussion between...